Kyoto...land of a thousand temples

After Osaka, we headed to Kyoto for several days. The first day we just took it easy seeing a few temples and eating a nice dinner. The next day we hit the temples with a passion that slowly dwindled after about 20 or so....We then decided if we were to see the rest of what we wanted, we had to get some wheels, so we rented bikes and saw the rest of the sites on our list. Here are a few highlights.



Kyoto station

Nijojo and a fountain at Jishu-jinja

Heian-jingu

Unknown temple and Ryozen Kannon

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) and Jishu-jinja

Heian-jingu and Fushimiinari-taisha

Gion Yakatori bar and a Maiko (Geisha in training)

Yasaka Pagoda

We cycled over 26K in one day to see all that we could see. It was all worth it, but somehow we forgot that we were to climb Fujisan the next day...

Osaka

After camping on the hard ground for two nights, Aaron's tush could take no more, so we changed plans and headed for a hotel in Osaka. It was a great choice. Osaka is an urban jungle! We had a great time and ate excellent sushi and slept in a comfortable bed.




Streets of Osaka...a real night spot with Karaoke, slots, and all things Japanese...

Hep Five (an amusement park/mall) and hotel kimonos

Hiroshima and Miya-jima

We landed in Tokyo on Saturday, August 8, but no trains were available for Hiroshima, so we headed halfway there to Osaka, spent the night, and then finished the trip Sunday morning. It was raining Sunday which made the experience even more somber. It is an amazing city, and it is really quite shocking that everything was incinerated just over 60 years ago.

Around the outskirts of town and the city tram

Paper crane art and the memorial museum (where's baldo?)

Street of the hypocenter and the A-bomb dome (just a block away from the hypocenter, the only thing that was left intact during the renovations)

Another pic of the A-bomb dome and a tree exposed to the blast that folded over the damage and continued to grow.

After the sobering experience of walking through Hiroshima, we headed off to the island God of Miya-jima for some supposed R&R. The plan was to tour the temple and laze on the beach...However, Kelly got the idea to hike over the mountain to the temple through a trail covered with plant life and multitudes of spiders. When we made it to the other side, we saw that the trail had been closed for 2 years! Although Aaron had many complaints about this little adventure, it was one of the most memorable days we spent in Japan.

View from the ferry ride to Miya-jima and the famous shrine

Itsukushima-jinja (temple/shrine) and five-storied pagoda

Miya-jima is loaded with wild deer that eat anything including maps!

Cuisine and Camping

Jungle trek from Hades and cooling off afterward in a stream...oops, is this stream sacred?

3 Weekends of Adventure

The last weekend in June we went to the province north of Seoul and went white water rafting. We camped and bathed in the river...what fun!

For the Fourth of July, we hopped on a ferry with some Kiwi friends and headed to an island off the coast from Incheon, Deokjeok-do. Swimming, volleyball, camping, hiking...exhausting!

Then the next weekend we headed to Boryeong City for the annual International Mud Festival. We were not quite sure what to expect, but it was well worth the trip and the clean up afterward!